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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100192">Claiming</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_larkspur/pseuds/willow_larkspur'>willow_larkspur</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Gwen's Competition Fics [146]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, X-Men - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Murder, Autistic Harry Potter, Canonical Child Abuse, Desi Harry Potter, Food Issues, Gen, Illegal Child Custody Transfer, Implied/Referenced Xenophobia, Mutant Harry Potter, Starvation, Touch-Starved</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:46:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,846</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24100192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/willow_larkspur/pseuds/willow_larkspur</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The professor sends out a small team to contact a new feral mutant in a little town in Surrey, England.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jean Grey/Scott Summers, Logan &amp; the X-Men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Gwen's Competition Fics [146]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250309</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MC4A Year 3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Claiming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I’m just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn’t going to get you anything but tears.<br/>Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There’s references to canon-typical child abuse &amp; xenophobia (anti-mutant ideology). Feel free to back out if need be.<br/>Author’s Note: I’ve been so bored this quarantine that I’ve been trying to catch up on the non-MCU Marvel movies. I’m not watching them in any particular order right now, but that’s not my point here. I watched Logan, and got dad!Logan feels. Also, I’m going with Sophie Turner’s portrayal of Jean, because the original actress once endorsed PETA and I’m feeling petty enough to count that against her right now.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(^^)<br/><strong>Claiming</strong><br/>(^^)</p><p>Logan hated making trips to Europe. At least, he had before joining the X-Men. Airport security never liked his little addition from Stryker’s experiments, and coming in by boat usually had similar issues once he hit Customs. Traveling on the Blackbird let him bypass all that irritating shit.</p><p>It did nothing to settle his nerves about flying.</p><p>If god had intended people to fly, he would have given them all the ability. Logan had exactly <em>none</em> of those mutations. He would have been just as happy sticking around the mansion and training the kids. That would have kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. It would have also put plenty of distance between his claws and Scott’s fragile ego.</p><p>But Chuck had wanted Logan specifically on this trip.</p><p>Apparently, the new mutant he had sensed might be a feral or animal morph. Since Logan was the only feral on staff, that meant he was the best choice for bringing in such students with minimal bloodshed. Jean was the next best, if only because she could use her telepathy to put most people into an unconscious state. The problem with that plan was that ferals tended to all have a certain degree of immunity to mental powers and there was never any telling how much a specific feral mutant had until they’ve been encountered. Using Jean to bring in new ferals had backfired too many times for the professor to send her alone when Logan was available.</p><p>Logan decided that he hated everything about this little village in Surrey only fifteen minutes after they had left the Blackbird. It would have been less, but they had to make their way from the field outside of town into the town proper. The whole place stank like spent lightning and the something in the air made Logan’s skin itched. Judging by the way Scott’s jaw was clenched, even he was having issues with the psionic imprint. Jean’s hair lifted slightly as her telekinesis reacted to her unease with the place.</p><p>“What kind of name is ‘Little Whinging’ anyway?” Logan grumbled as they made their way towards the little park where Chuck had said the mutant had activated. “They got a lot of whiners here or something? Ain’t towns supposed to have positive names?”</p><p>“Maybe they’re positive that people here whine?” Kitty answered. As a newly graduated student, the young woman had only been on a few missions. Logan was fairly certain that this was her very first retrieval mission, too. He wouldn’t have minded bringing a greenie if it had been anything other than a feral they were contacting. Pups tended to be impatient, and Kitty was particularly impulsive at times.</p><p>“This is just depressing,” Jean commented as they entered the little park.</p><p>She wasn’t wrong. The park had a swing set with four swings, a small merry-go-round, and a sandbox, but that was it for play equipment. An asphalt walking path looped around the swing set and the merry-go-round. Three benches were placed periodically with all of them facing inwards. Opposite the park’s entrance was a small copse of trees and bushes. This late in the day, it was empty of the families that probably visited during the day.</p><p>Logan felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Without a care for subtlety, he lifted his nose to better scent any potential threat. The smell of marigolds and rotten leaves nearly knocked him flat on his ass. The scent of smoke that hung around Jean intensified as she moved around him. The fading sunlight hit her hair, making the red seem to glow.</p><p>“There’s someone here,” she said in as gentle a mental voice as possible. She sent the impression of the trees. Logan moved forward even as Jean continued in the same manner, “Logan, they’re hurt and hungry, but I don’t sense any territorial aggression.”</p><p>“I’ve got ‘em,” Logan assured his team. “Just keep watch.”</p><p>With those parting words, he slipped into the little woods. He nearly missed the hollow at the base of an old oak despite how the tree dominated the grouping. The tiny form curled up within that hollow made Logan want to growl. He had seen a lot of battered mutants over the years, and more than a fair few had been kids, too, but this kid had to be one of the youngest he had ever seen.</p><p>There was no doubt in Logan’s mind that the kid’s mutation had been activated by trauma. The kid looked like he might be three, if Logan was feeling generous, and other than being born already active, trauma was the only thing that activated mutations before puberty. Even without that knowledge, most of the dark skin that Logan could see had bruises in various stages of healing and the kid’s bones jutted out in ways that only happened with long-term deprivation. Plenty of people abused or abandoned mutant kids—it was just a sad fact of the world they lived in.</p><p>But something told Logan that this was more than that. Maybe it was the way the kid was just staring at him with green eyes that were hazy with exhaustion. Or maybe it was the sour scent of pain that was mixed with the kid’s personal scent which filled the small space around the tree he was hiding within. Logan crouched down right outside of the hollow, careful to leave the illusion of enough space for the kid to slip out if he really wanted. The kid’s nostrils flared slightly as he instinctively sought out Logan’s scent for clues.</p><p>“You smell weird,” the kid said in a flat tone. Logan knew that One-Eye would have taken offense at that greeting—most nonferals didn’t understand how important scent was, he knew—but Logan was used to how <em>off</em> the adamantine made his scent. He was more interested in the tone that the kid had used, especially with how there wasn’t an accompanying shift in the kid’s scent like there would have been with other ferals. It was like the kid had no emotions at all.</p><p>Logan shifted his weight uneasily. Instantly, the kid closed his eyes as he also dropped his chin down and to the side. The act bared the side of the kid’s neck completely, giving Logan a painfully clear view of the finger-shaped bruises there.</p><p>Rage hit him like a punch to the gut. Unable to stop himself, Logan let loose a growl. The kid shivered at both the sound of the growl and how Logan’s scent burned with the emotion. Yet Logan could barely keep himself from losing himself in the protective anger surging through him.</p><p>Animals—and by extension, ferals—reacted to threats by either fighting or fleeing. Backing them into a corner typically just amplified that instinct. But sometimes, when a threat was great enough, when it was constant enough, the instinctive need for preservation broke down. Sometimes, when an animal was caged for long enough, they just gave up trying to defend themselves or to escape. Sometimes, they just accepted that death and pain were inevitable.</p><p>“No, pup,” Logan rumbled even as he forced himself to breathe and relax. There would be time later to give into his emotions. But right now, the kid didn’t need that stinking up the place. “That ain’t for you. It’s for your folks, not you. Never you, hear? Never you.”</p><p>“They’re dead,” the kid replied, still with that monotone and empty scent. “Aunt Petunia says it was my fault for being born.”</p><p>“Pleasant sounding woman, this aunt of yours,” Logan commented, only a hint of a growl roughing up the edges of the words. “She sounds like a real peach.”</p><p>“She’s human,” the kid said. His eyes blinked open to stare at Logan. Just a hint of confusion twined into the marigold and fallen leaves scent. “People cannot be fruit.” The kid blinked again, just once, before he continued just as flatly. “At least, I think so. Uncle Vernon calls people ‘fruit’ sometimes, but I do not think it’s supposed to be a nice thing.”</p><p>“Yer a smart one, ain’t ya?”</p><p>“Sorry,” the kid replied, dropping his chin submissively again. This time, he looked like he was bracing for a blow. Logan growled a bit at the sight. Any hesitation he may have had about taking the kid back to the mansion shriveled up and died right there. Ain’t no way he was going to let the kid go back to the pieces of work he had lived with up until now.</p><p>As soon as Logan got the kid out of his little hole, he was taking him away from here. Chuck could either accept that or not.</p><p>“You hungry, kid?”</p><p>Food was usually a good way of drawing out ferals, especially young ones. Hadn’t Jean mentioned that the kid felt hungry? Right on cue, the kid’s stomach gurgled. Logan gave a toothy grin, only for it to fade away when the kid spoke again.</p><p>“I’m fine, sir,” he said without looking up. Logan growled deep in his chest. The kid responded by curling up tighter, as if to make himself even smaller of a target. Fear turned the floral part sour as it shot through the kid’s scent. “Sorry!”</p><p>“Alright,” Logan grumbled, more to himself than the kid, “this ain’t workin’ for either of us.”</p><p>With that declaration, he reached into the hollow. He managed to grab hold of an arm and a leg. Both felt fragile in his grip. Thankfully, the kid didn’t fight being dragged from his hiding spot. Nor did he fight when Logan pressed the kid’s face towards the spot where his shoulder and neck met.</p><p>For a long moment, Logan worried that the kid had completely forgotten how to breathe at all. Then he felt a small puff of air against his skin as the kid finally began to scent Logan properly. Logan rumbled encouragingly and rubbed one of his wrists over the kid’s cheek and jaw. The kid made a tiny noise of surprise at the action, and Logan’s heart just broke a little.</p><p>“You got a name, kid?” he demanded quietly as he turned the motion into ubbing behind the kid’s ear. The kid was nuzzling into him now and making a noise similar to a kitten’s purr. He had also started kneading the soft fabric of Logan’s shirt with the tips of his fingers. As gently as possible, Logan pulled the kid back far enough to see his face. As soon as those green eyes focused the tiniest bit on Logan’s face, he repeated the question.</p><p>“Freak?” the kid answered with more hesitation than the question really deserved. Logan managed not to growl at how confused the kid seemed to be over that answer. “The teacher calls me ‘Harry’, though, so maybe that’s it?”</p><p>“Alright, pup,” Logan agreed as he let Harry go back to scenting him. He also settled back into rubbing the kid’s scent points, soothing his own protective aggression by making the kid smell like him. “Here’s what’s gonna happen: you’re gonna come with me. We’re gonna get you something to eat and drink, and then we’re gonna go see my friend Chuck. How’s that sound to ya?”</p><p>“I have chores,” Harry protested weakly. He rubbed his cheek against Logan’s shoulder. “Aunt Petunia will be mad if I’m not there to make breakfast in the morning.”</p><p>“She can be mad,” Logan said. “In fact, feel free to tell my friends out in the park where your aunt lives and they’ll deal with her while we’re eating.”</p><p>Harry froze. He went to pull back as well, but Logan tightened his hold on the kid. After a moment, Harry relaxed back against him. He didn’t go back to his scenting or kneading.</p><p>“If you’re sure, sir,” Harry said quietly. The rotten leaves portion of his scent caught in the back of Logan’s throat like a funeral march. Logan closed his eyes and pressed his chin into Harry’s dark curls as the realization rolled over him.</p><p>How many times had someone promised to help the kid only make things worse?</p><p>How many times had someone promised to help only to walk away?</p><p><em>No more</em>.</p><p>“I’m sure, pup,” Logan announced. Then he shifted his hold just enough to stand up with Harry in his arms. The kid was even lighter than he had been expected. “Let’s get something into you.”</p><p>The moment Jean’s blue eyes spotted them, she frowned. He could see her doing calculations based on how small Harry was. Then she met his gaze, and Logan could see her own determination to take him back with them matched his. No matter how much Scott complained, she wouldn’t be deterred.</p><p>Kitty squealed before rushing towards them, cutting off other thoughts.</p><p>“He’s so small!” she exclaimed. Her hands fluttered around them, as if she was barely stopping herself from touching. “I didn’t realize mutants could be so small! I mean, there’s Leech, but he was born—”</p><p>“Kitty,” Scott interrupted with a warning tone. Despite the visor, Logan could tell that he was staring at the kid who had flinched and tucked his face deeper into Logan’s shoulder when Kitty had approached. “Go check the street outside the park for people.”</p><p>The young woman looked like she was going to protest for a moment. But no one did <em>deeply disapproving</em> quite like Scott Summers, and Kitty took one look at his face before immediately heading towards the park entrance to do as she had been told. Only then did Jean break the uneasy silence that had descended over them.</p><p>“Is he old enough to know his address?” she asked. Logan just gave her a blank look. He knew the kid certainly looked young, but Jean would have been keeping tabs on the conversation. She should have already known that Harry didn’t talk like he was as young as he looked. She frowned thoughtfully as she looked over the kid again. “Do you know your address, honey? Scott and I can go get your stuff while Logan and Kitty take you out to eat.”</p><p>Harry’s hands tightened their grip on Logan’s shirt. That slight trace of confusion laced its way through his scent again. He lifted his head just enough that it was pointed in Jean’s direction.</p><p>“I don’t have anything,” Harry said. Jean visibly flinched at the flatness of that voice. Then her expression turned assessing. Logan had seen her turn that look on more than one new mutant, especially after she had started her shrink courses. “Aunt Petunia says I’m lucky to use Dudley’s old clothes and blanket.”</p><p>“I see,” Jean said carefully. “I still would like to visit. Could you tell me where she lives?”</p><p>“Number Four Privet Drive,” Harry finally answered. Logan thought he could hear the tiniest amount of inflection in the flatness. Harry slumped against his chest with a sigh. “I should get back. I need to make dinner.”</p><p>“I see,” Jean repeated as neutrally as possible. “Can you tell me how old you are?”</p><p>“Dudley is six,” Harry answered. “So is his friend Piers. We’re all in the same form.”</p><p>“I see,” Jean said again. A bit of anger escaped her control, lacing her voice as well as her aura. Logan understood the feeling as he would give anything to sink his claws into this mysterious aunt and uncle the kid mentioned. Harry flinched slightly. Jean forced herself to take a deep breath and release it again. “I’ll add that to the list of things to ask then. Can you tell me how you got hurt, honey?”</p><p>“I deserved it,” Harry said in a very small voice, like he was afraid to speak any louder. Logan moved the hand that had been bracing the kid’s upper back to rub at the back of his head.</p><p>“What the hell did you do that deserved this?” Scott snapped. Logan growled. The other man lifted his hands in surrender. Harry’s answer broke the tension threatening to consume them.</p><p>“I made Dudley look bad,” the kid said. “The teacher had all the students do aptitude tests before break. Now she wants to send me to the accelerated school but not Dudley. I needed to be reminded of my place.”</p><p>“Who ‘reminded’ you, honey?” Jean asked more gently than Logan had ever heard her speak. “How did they remind you?”</p><p>“Aunt Petunia used the spoon,” Harry said. The monotone he continued to speak with was making Logan feel sick. “She hit me wherever she could reach. Then she locked me in my cupboard until Uncle Vernon got home. He—” Harry released Logan’s shirt with one hand. Logan didn’t see what the kid did with it, but he did see how Jean paled at whatever it was. “When the spots took over, I think he put me in the garden shed. I know that I shouldn’t have left the yard, but I had to get away, just for a little while.”</p><p>“So you came to the park?” Logan felt the kid nod in answer to Jean’s question. “Thank you for telling me this, honey. It was very brave of you.”</p><p>“I’m ready to go back now,” Harry said. “I need to get dinner started. Dudley will be hungry.”</p><p>“What about you?” Scott asked. Both Logan and Jean shot glares at him, but he didn’t back down this time. “Aren’t you hungry?”</p><p>“I’m fine, sir,” Harry answered just like he had when Logan had asked the same question. And just like earlier, Harry’s stomach gurgled demandingly at the mention of food. The boy stiffened against Logan’s chest as fear soured his scent again. Harry’s voice shook, the only break from his monotone, as he repeated himself. “I’m, I’m fine, s-sir.”</p><p>“I’m sure,” Scott agreed dryly. He shifted his gaze towards Logan. “No cheese on the burger. Just in case. Hank can check for allergies and come up with a more detailed plan as part of the kid’s intake, but the last thing he needs right now is digestive issues. There’s already no telling how the flight will affect him.” Scott moved his gaze over the kid again and scowled. “Actually, I’ll tell Kitty to get the food. You take the kid directly back to the Blackbird. I have the feeling that the less witnesses there are for where the kid went, the better.”</p><p>“Watch Jean’s back,” Logan ordered gruffly. He made sure that his hold on Harry was secure before taking off in a ground-eating jog.</p><p>He didn’t turn back when Jean let out a huffed complaint about that parting shot. Under normal circumstances, he knew that she was more than capable of defending herself. He also knew that there was no way that she wasn’t going to be exposed first hand to Harry’s aunt, who sounded as pleasant as poison ivy on an asshole.</p><p>The sooner they were out of here, the better for all of them.</p><p>“You can explore while I do flight checks,” Logan said as he set the kid down once they reached the plane, “but no leaving the Blackbird, understood?”</p><p>“Yes, sir,” Harry answered. His voice had returned to its previous flatness without any trace of his momentary tremor. Logan was beginning to think that the tone was just the kid’s default and not something that could be tied back to his relatives. There had been other kids with similar issues who had attended the school. The professor would know.</p><p>Logan kept his hearing tuned to the pup as he ran down the pre-flight checklist that he had long since memorized. The kid had a soft step, so close to thief-softness. Logan couldn’t think about the implications of that, not if he wanted to keep his anger out of his scent.</p><p>At least the kid was actually exploring the interior of the plane and actually checking the few scent marks that the ferals on the team had placed around the space. He wasn’t trying to overlay any of them, but the part of Logan that had been starting to worry that they had found the kid too late began to relax at the very basic territorial behavior. The glimpses of animal behavior the kid let slip still felt a bit like a victory every time.</p><p>“This isn’t the standard Lockheed model,” Harry announced suddenly. Logan glanced at him, just long enough to note how faded his bruises had become in the short time since he had found him.</p><p>“Beast and Forge made some adaptations,” Logan replied. He touched the button that lowered the panel hiding the medical bed. The kid made a surprised hiss but moved to investigate the new area without waiting to see Logan’s reaction. “You’re welcome to climb in there, if you want. The panel won’t close on ya.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” Harry asked. “Aunt Petunia says that I’m not allowed on furniture.”</p><p>“Did she say why?” Logan asked, despite his knee-jerk desire to just toss the rule out. He had a nagging feeling about this aunt from how the kid kept holding himself back from things. As much as the answer was going to piss him off, it was better to have it confirmed.</p><p>“Animals don’t belong on furniture,” Harry answered. Logan closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe after Harry confirmed Logan’s suspicion. The kid’s relatives had been aware of his feral mutation and had been training him to suppress his nature.</p><p>“That’s a rule we can definitely throw out,” Logan announced once he was confident that he could get the words out without growling. “Why don’t you hop up and test out the blankets?”</p><p>“They are nice,” Harry whispered. “Are you sure I am allowed, sir?”</p><p>“If anyone tries to give you grief about it, I’ll handle them,” Logan promised. He turned to face the kid. Harry’s eyes were shimmering with tears that Logan knew the kid wouldn’t actually shed but which still managed to tug at his heartstrings. “I’ll handle anyone who gives you grief over anything, pup.”</p><p>The kid broke first. After taking a few deep breaths of his own, he climbed into the generous cubby space. Logan had always thought it was a bit small for most of their members, but for the kid, it was just right. And to make it even better, because of the hygiene requirements, it wouldn’t smell like anyone else, not even Beast.</p><p>It didn’t surprise Logan that the kid didn’t last long once he was tucked away and wrapped up in one of the soft blankets kept in the space. By the time Kitty showed up a bag of food, the kid had fallen into a deep sleep. Healing always took a lot of a body, and the kid just didn’t have the same resources to fall back on as others. Neither of them had the heart to even try to wake the kid to eat.</p><p>When Jean and Scott arrived, they were both empty-handed. Logan scowled but wasn’t surprised that the kid truly had nothing, just as he had claimed. Scott took over the pilot seat as Jean took the spot across from the medical bay.</p><p>“They never wanted him,” she whispered, clearly shaken. “It isn’t even bigotry, like it is with so many parents we deal with. They just didn’t want <em>him</em>.”</p><p>“Well, he’s ours now,” Logan said as Scott took them into the air.</p><p>No one contradicted him.</p><p>No one even wanted to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Homecoming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I’m just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn’t going to get you anything but tears.<br/>Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There are also references to canon-typical shitty things such as abuse and xenophobia. Oh, and Harry has issues with food that are referenced. Feel free to back out if need be.<br/>Author’s Note: Okay. So I caved just a bit and revisited this ‘verse. Here’s the arrival at the school. And before anyone decides to waste both of our time, yes, I need all the meta data I’ve included.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="NoSpacing tm6">(^^)<br/><strong><span class="tm7">Homecoming</span></strong><br/>(^^)</p><p class="NoSpacing">The flight over the Atlantic was surprisingly smooth for the time of year. Logan couldn’t help thinking it might be a sign that Mother Nature agreed with them. Of course, it could be Onroro clearing the way for them from the mansion. But something in his gut told him that it wasn’t, that this was a natural occurrence no matter how unlikely that was.</p><p class="NoSpacing">When they landed in Westchester, Logan leaned back in his seat, thankful to be back on the ground. Or underground, as the case was. The basketball court took its time closing overhead. Hank would probably want to know that. It was matter of safety that the bay doors responded quickly.</p><p class="NoSpacing">He almost missed that Jean was already unbuckled and headed towards the medical bay where Harry was still sleeping. Under normal circumstances, she was one of their medics. It was second nature for her to check any patients upon landing.</p><p class="NoSpacing">These weren’t normal circumstances.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan grabbed Jean’s arm before she got more than a few steps towards Harry. Other than a few hitches in breath, the kid hadn’t moved the entire hour and so that they had been in the air. So far there hadn’t been any signs of aggression from Harry, not even defensive ones, but the fact of the matter was that they simply didn’t know what natural weapons he had along with the other feral traits. While no one would hold it against the kid if he woke up on the offensive, it still might be best if the only one he could reach was someone who wasn’t very breakable.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Jean gave him a sharp nod to show that she understood. Kitty picked up on the exchange and actually pouted. Scott made that throat-clearing sound that Logan had learned meant that he was trying not to laugh. Logan couldn’t control the annoyed growl that left his throat, because that would always be his default response to Scott being amused, but he cut it off just as quickly as it started.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Instead, he moved to wake the kid. His hand barely touched Harry’s tiny shoulder before the kid was jerking awake and proving that having Jean wake him would have been a bad idea. Not that the teeth sinking into his forearm really hurt beyond the pinpricks of what had to be fangs that sank deep enough to hit the adamantine coating of Logan’s bones. Before anyone could react beyond a few shocked gasps, Harry was pulling back and scrambling towards the back of cubby space.</p><p class="NoSpacing">The pup curled his legs up over his stomach as he crossed his arms over his head.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan knew he shouldn’t take the reaction personally. Harry had lived with monsters. Whatever the fuck they had done had been enough that whatever feral aggressiveness the kid should have had was suppressed. Logan almost sympathized with the assholes. Wilson, a guy Logan had served with as part of the X-Force, had mentioned a story once about tying a baby elephant to a stake in the ground and beating it so that when it was fully grown, it wouldn’t exercise its strength against its captor. Ferals were naturally strong mutants, and raising a child with a feral mutation would not have been an easy task.</p><p class="NoSpacing">But it still didn’t mean that beating a baby elephant was the right thing to do.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Well, Kitty, let’s introduce you to the debrief process,” Scott declared after a beat of silence. Kitty whined and shot him her best puppy dog eyes. In the little medical bed, Harry froze like he was anticipating something worse than a punishment for biting Logan for waking him. “No getting out of the paperwork, short stack. Besides, it’s a tradition to make the newbie fill out all of the forms by hand in triplicate.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“We have, like, seven different kinds of devices that make hard copy redundant,” Kitty whined. Harry was peeking out from behind his eyes, shivering like he was going to vibrate out of his skin at any moment. Logan would have gladly stuck his previous guardians like they were pigs to be slaughtered if they were before him right then. “Why do I have to do any paperwork <em><span class="tm8">by hand</span></em>?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Because you’re the newbie,” Scott answered as he ushered her off the plane. Their voices fade as they move through the hanger.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan glanced at Jean, briefly meeting her blue eyes before focusing back on Harry. The kid has uncurled slightly. His brown skin still had that grayish tinge to it that Logan dislikes, but the stink of fear was finally starting to dissipate a bit. The puncture wounds from Harry’s bite have closed over even if Logan could still feel the ache from the slower healing depth. It almost feels like it was healing slower than normal, too.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Of course retractable fangs that long would come with venom.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Jean pressed the greasy takeout bag into the hand of Logan’s uninjured arm. Harry shifted on the bed, his nostrils flaring wider as he breathed in the scent of the food. Despite having to know that it was the food that he had been promised before they left England, Harry didn’t reach for the bag or even give it more than a single glance. Logan remembered how the kid had denied that he was hungry even while his stomach was audibly growling, so he didn’t give Harry a chance to deny it again.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan might just fly the Blackbird back to that little town with its weirdly British name and reenact some of his X-Force days if he heard the kid say that <em><span class="tm8">he was fine</span></em> right then.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Instead, he opened the bag and took out the burger to hold it up for Harry to see. Harry’s eyes flicked to it as his nostrils flared again. Then that emerald gaze focused entirely on Logan’s face, somehow without making eye contact at the same time. Confident that he had Harry’s attention, Logan tossed the wrapped burger to the boy’s corner without stretching his arm into the admittedly small space. He had already invaded the illusion of safety enough for the moment.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Harry caught the burger easily and in the same movement that ended with him sitting up with his back pressed into corner. The kid curled around the food, green eyes flickering between it and Logan. Then he unwrapped it with deft fingers and began devouring it quickly, barely chewing each bite. Jean made a noise of protest, likely at the potential choking hazard, and took a step forward with one hand outstretched.</p><p class="NoSpacing">The vicious growl echoed loudly in the nearly empty jet.</p><p class="NoSpacing">It took longer than it should have for Logan to realize that the sound had come from himself. More shockingly, it was aimed at Jean. The redhead had always been one of the exceptions to his moods, even more than the few feral students that the school had gained over the years. Yet here they stood, the closest that Logan had come to attacking her while not drugged up on some cocktail meant to keep him complicit. Jean didn’t look worried or offended, however. Her gaze was calm and assessing as it swept over him.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I’ll go help Hank set up,” she said finally. “Give a shout if you need help.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Jean,” he started only for her to shake her head at him.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I’m not upset, Logan.” She gave him a gentle smile. “Sorry, but you’ll have to do a bit more than growl at me if you want to scare me. I can’t believe I’m saying this to you of all people, but maybe you should wrap that arm. It doesn’t seem to be healing as it should.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“It’s fine, Red,” he grunted. The last thing any of them needed right then was the kid getting all twisted up inside about something that probably wouldn’t matter in a few more hours anyway. He chanced a look at Harry, completely not surprised to see that the kid had stopped eating to watch them warily. Jean gave him a flat look. He grimaced. “It will be fine. Shouldn’t you be bothering Hank instead of nagging at me?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“And you’re back to your old self,” Jean commented with a knowing smile. “Yeah, you’ll be fine.” Her blue eyes darted towards Harry and back again. “Both of you will.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Jean,” he tried again as she walked down the ramp. She didn’t look back or pause at all to let him apologize. He sighed. Hopefully, Scott wouldn’t hear about him growling at his wife. A small noise drew his attention back to Harry who was staring after Jean like he couldn’t believe that she was leaving. He knew the feeling.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Hey, pup,” Logan called gently. He waited until those green eyes had focused on him again. “Once you finish eating, we’ll go see if we can’t catch up with her. But ya’ve got to eat first.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Is she mad?” Harry asked in a small voice. He was still curled around the half of his burger that remained. Logan watched as Harry’s nostrils flared again, obviously trying to scent out the truth. Logan held out his wrist with his hand turned palm up and his fingers held loose. The weight of Harry’s green eyes burned as the pup watched it like it was going to attack him.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Unlike the impatient restless that tended to drive so much of his life, Logan felt something settle within him as it had only once before. That had turned out to be an elaborate lie, but Logan couldn’t believe that this was. There was something infuriatingly honest about Harry. He was just a pup, and regardless of all his grouching, Logan had always been good with pups.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“It takes a lot to rile up Red,” he told Harry, “and even if it didn’t, she wouldn’t be mad about any of this.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“You growled at her,” Harry whispered.</p><p class="NoSpacing">His gaze darted to the exit, like he was worried that Jean was going to come back because he was talking about it. Logan wanted to growl again when it occurred to him why Harry might be worried about that. There was, after all, only so many ways to get a feral to suppress their instincts as much as Harry’s seemed to be.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I growl at a lot of people,” Logan admitted. “It’s my default reaction.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“You didn’t like growling at her,” Harry continued without inflection. He kept glancing at the exit like he was expecting Jean to come back. Subtly, Logan shifted his weight so that he completely blocked the view of it from the medical bed. Harry’s eyes went wide as they fixed on Logan even as he ducked his head so that he was looking up through his dark fringe. “Sorry, sir.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“You need to focus on finishing your burger,” Logan grunted. Harry hesitated a moment before taking another bite of the half-eaten sandwich. He didn’t resume his previous frantic pace, however. Logan hoped it was because he was confident that no one would be taking the food away rather than fearing that someone would take it if he did. “No, I don’t like growling at Jean. And it ain’t ‘cause she’ll attack me for doing it, either. Red helped me out once. She gave me back a part of myself that I had lost after freeing me from a cage and a very bad man.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“She saved you?” Harry asked, looking up with eyes even wider than they had been.</p><p class="NoSpacing">His gaze traced over Logan’s body as if he couldn’t believe someone like Logan ever needing help. Not that Logan could blame him. He had been through enough wars and combats to understand how he looked, especially to a young pup like Harry. The little boy was so tiny, a by-product of his relatives’ habit of withholding food from the kid no doubt.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Accelerated healing came with an accelerated metabolism even when there wasn’t healing being actively done. The bruises that the kid had had when they had found him in that park had healed without a trace, but Logan knew that they weren’t the first Harry had to have received from his relatives. Scott made the right call, keeping Logan away from them before they left England. If Logan had seen them at all, he might not have had the self-control to keep from slicing them open like he had so many enemies over the decades.</p><p class="NoSpacing"><em><span class="tm8">There was only so many ways to suppress a feral’s instincts</span></em>.</p><p class="NoSpacing">The thought echoed through Logan’s head as Harry finished his burger… or at least made the last quarter of it disappear, wrapper and all. Logan could still smell it so the kid had probably tucked it away in a pocket. It wouldn’t be good for long outside of a fridge, but there was no way in hell that Logan would begrudge the kid a stash of food. It wasn’t even the first time that a new resident had arrived with that habit either.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Harry was visibly reluctant to leave the medical bed. He didn’t hesitate to get out of the cubbyhole when Logan indicated that it was time to go. Logan specifically didn’t think about what that meant. He was already certain that the pup was only not cowering away because Logan was keeping a hand on the back of his neck as he guided him through the underground portion of the school.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan understood the rising tension in the kid as they made their way from the hanger to the medical wing. The underground halls had none of the scent markers that normally filled a place. It was due to the bots and filters that were necessary to keep Cerebro clean. Even the hanger would be sanitized now that they had left it. Knowing the reason for the unsettling lack didn’t make it any easier to still the instinctive rise in his hackles, and scenting his surroundings had been one of the few instincts that Harry had demonstrated so far.</p><p class="NoSpacing">It was actually relaxing to reach the medical ward with where Hank had been generous with his territorial markers. Logan would have teased the doctor about feeling the need to prove himself if it wasn’t for the fact that after the scentless hallways, it was nice to return to something resembling normal. Judging by the slight loosening of the muscles under his hand, Harry agreed.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Instead of Hank or Jean being in the outer examination room, Ororo waited for them. She must have been feeling homesick, because instead of just her habitual jewelry as a reminder of her homeland, she was wearing one of her capulanas tied around her waist to form a skirt. The pale purple of the branching lightning was vivid against the royal purple background. The fabric bunched from the way it was wrapped, increasing the impression of her wearing a storm cloud despite the wavy black line border the fabric had. Combined with the bright blue camisole she was wearing as a shirt, she looked like the goddess she had once been worshiped as.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Her pale blue eyes swept over both of them, gaze assessing like always was when any of them returned from trips away. The world outside of the school was not kind to mutants, no matter what their age and destination were. Harry ducked closer to Logan as Ororo’s gaze settled on him.</p><p class="NoSpacing">A small breeze shifted through the medical ward. It was just enough to stir Ororo’s white hair and carry the scent of ozone and petrichor back to them. Ororo breathed in sharply through her nose. Instantly, the breeze disappeared.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Sorry,” Harry muttered as he ripped himself out of Logan’s hold and backed away towards the nearest wall. His back hit it with a loud thud. Shaking now, Harry slide down the wall. His arms came up to cover his head. Between the shaking and angle, his sleeves fell backwards, revealing pale white scars covering the brown skin of Harry’s forearms. The scent of fear, sickly thick and tasting of marigolds, filled the room. “Sorry. Sorry.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“What did you do?” Logan snarled at Ororo. Without needing to think about it, he put his body between the weather witch and the pup. His arms hung loosely at his sides, claws still retracted but ready if he needed them. “What did you <em><span class="tm8">do</span></em>?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I see what Charles meant now,” she said regally and far too calm for Logan’s comfort. Her eyes stayed on his face. More importantly, they stayed pale blue and clear instead of clouding with white like they did whenever she accessed her mutation. Harry had not spoken or made any kind of sound since Logan had gotten between him and Storm. “You’ve quite imprinted on the child, haven’t you?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I haven’t—” He cut himself off abruptly. The denial would have been a lie. It would have also hurt Harry to hear it. The pup didn’t deserve any more pain. Ororo raised a sculpted white eyebrow at him in challenge. He sighed in defeat. “The pup needs to be protected. He’s had it pretty rough.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“As you say,” Ororo allowed. She bowed her head slightly. “I understand from Jean that he will not be returning to his relatives. I also understand that this will be a new start.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“You still haven’t told me what you did, Storm,” Logan reminded her. She hummed as if she was thinking. Logan growled low in his chest. She stared at him unimpressed until his rumbling trailed off.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I did nothing,” she stated in a tone just as flat as the one that Harry tended to use. “The boy’s magic is just more active than my own. It reached out to greet me.” She pressed her lips together as if contemplating whether she should say more than that. “I admit that it has been some time since I have met someone whose magic has done so. I was… startled. Taken by surprise.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan breathed in through his nose, not bothering to hide that he was scenting the air. Ororo did not comment, but her scent remained open and calm even if it was the tense sort of calm like the eye of a storm. Her hair and capulana were moving just slightly in a breeze that could not be coming from any vent or similar source, even though her eyes stayed blue and clear of clouds.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“What aren’t you saying?” Logan asked, looking at her through squinted eyes.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Magic is not unlike telepathy,” Ororo intoned, slipping easily into the voice she used while teaching or acting in her role as priestess. Her hands folded over each other and rested against her camisole, right above the line of her capulana. “To touch someone else’s mind is an intimate act, one which most people with the talent would try to do sparingly. They would hold back to reduce it to something similar to a handshake. Telepathy, however, originates in the mind, in the body. Magic originates from the soul’s connection to the universe at large, and as such, it is channeled through the body from the soul.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“To touch magic is something typically only done between lovers,” she finished just as carefully, “or between family.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">Logan growled again, low and discontentedly. Ororo lifted her hands in the universal sign for peace. And Harry shifted so that he was pressed against the back of Logan’s legs. Acting on impulse, Logan dropped a hand to Harry’s hair. The soft strands felt like corn silk beneath his fingers and palm.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I do not say this as a criticism, Logan,” Ororo said, “nor am I planning on reading into the action any implication of desire or consent for anything nefarious.” She paused, and her gaze dropped to the general vicinity of his knees, where Harry’s face was likely to be. “Though if you would wish for it, I would not object to standing in your mother’s place, little one. I would consider it an honor.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Aunt Petunia wouldn’t like that,” Harry answered as his hands tightened around the folds in Logan’s jeans. “She didn’t want me talking to… to people like… you know, people like <em><span class="tm8">us</span></em>.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Ororo said with gentle firmness. “Why don’t you explain it to me?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Brown,” Harry whispered as if ashamed to speak the word. He let go with one hand, though Logan couldn’t see what he did with it before he grabbed hold again.</p><p class="NoSpacing">Ororo looked like she had just been slapped. Then the blue of her eyes darkened like ominous storm clouds rolling over the horizon to fill a summer sky. Harry tucked his face against Logan’s thigh.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I see,” she said miraculously without any kind of inflection. It might have fooled anyone who couldn’t smell the pure rage pouring off of her. Harry was trembling against him now. “Then that’s all the more reason to do it. I learned a long time ago that sometimes the best motivation for doing something is the spite.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“That sounds suspiciously like Raven,” Logan commented. Storm gave him a smile that was full of enough teeth to be at home on a shark.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Where else do you think I would learn such a lesson but the Hero?” she returned, sounding very much like the very young and newly freed Horsemen she had been when she had first met Chuck. “She would not approve of allowing a child to be without a mother, I think. Too many mutants lose their families.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“They should ask the bobby for help finding them,” Harry suggested. His shaking had calmed even if his hold had not loosened any. “That’s what Aunt Petunia told Dudley to do if he ever lost her in the store or park.” Logan froze as he felt Harry rub his cheek against his leg, scent-marking something for the first time. “She told me that I could stay gone if I ever got lost.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">Ororo crouched down so that she was on eye level with Harry. The pup froze and a light trace of fear began to waft off of him, but he wasn’t scurrying for better cover. Ororo folded her hands together over her bent knees.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“There is a saying,” she said in the same soothing tone Logan had heard her use with her plants. “It was made a very long time ago, so long that most people do not know the full version of it. The saying is that <em><span class="tm8">blood is thicker than water</span></em>. Have you heard it before?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“Yes, ma’am,” Harry replied. “Aunt Marge said that’s why Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had to take me in when they should have just drowned me in the river like a litter of mix-bred mutts.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">Ororo closed her eyes, visibly struggling to keep from losing her temper when the ones who deserved it weren’t present. Logan understood the feeling. The plane ride back to Surrey might just be <em><span class="tm8">worth it</span></em> to get Harry’s relatives under his claws.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“That is not the full version,” Ororo continued after she had collected herself. “The full version is this: <em><span class="tm8">The blood of the covenant is thicker than the waters of the womb</span></em>. It means that the bonds we choose to make and then honor are more important than the mere happenstance of being born to the same family. Do you understand?”</p><p class="NoSpacing">“I’m really going to stay here?” Harry asked quietly. His voice sounded thick.</p><p class="NoSpacing">“No matter what else happens,” Ororo confirmed, “you are home now, yes.”</p><p class="NoSpacing">Harry’s answering sob could barely be heard, even with how quiet the infirmary was, but it felt like the start of something far louder.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Submitting Info:<br/>Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A<br/>Individual Challenges: Inevitable; Bonjour-Hi; Metahuman MC (x4); Magical MC (x2); Mutant Organization MC (x3); Immortal MC (x2); Professor MC (x3); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x3); Ethnic &amp; Present (x2); Small Fry; Claimed; Hold the Mayo; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); New Fandom Smell; Marvelous Cinema; Gwen’s HP Checklist [Autistic Harry]; Long Haul; The Real MC; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift<br/>House: Slytherin<br/>Assignment No.: Term 13 – Assignment 03<br/>Subject (Task No.): n/a<br/>Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [980](Protective); 365 [328](Unsettling); Herbology Club [Individual Plots](Tradition); Auction [9-2](Blood is/n't thicker than water)<br/>Other MC4A Challenges: Su Bingo [4D](Storm); AU [4D](Time Traveler); Hunt [Su Set](Underground); Chim [Kinzie]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man; Royal Purple; Hurt/Comfort); Fire [Hard](Education); Garden [Crossover Galore](School)<br/>Representation(s): Adopting Desi &amp; Autistic Harry; Ororo Monroe<br/>Primary &amp; Secondary Bonus Challenges: Lyre Liar; Muck &amp; Slime; Rock of Ages; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench;  Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Mother Hen; Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Endless Wonder; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow’s Shade; A Long Dog; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath); Demo 1 (Bad Beans; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Sitting Hummingbird)<br/>Tertiary &amp; Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Intercept); O3 (Orator; Ox); War (Sanctuary; Ennui)<br/>Word Count: 3936</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Submitting Info:<br/>Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A<br/>Individual Challenges: Magical MC; Metahuman MC (x5); Mutant Organization MC (x4); Ethnic &amp; Present; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Hold the Mayo; Small Fry; Claimed; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); New Fandom Smell (Y); Long Haul; Green Ribbon<br/>House: Slytherin<br/>Assignment No.: Term 12 – Assignment 9<br/>Subject (Task No.): n/a<br/>Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [180](Sleeping); 365 [24](Behavior); Geek Pride [X-Men] (X-Men)<br/>Other MC4A Challenges: Sp Bingo [5D](Union/Covenant); Tr Bingo [4A](The Dragon); Hunt [Sp Settings](Airplane); Chim [Doug](Family/Friendship; “Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man)<br/>Representation(s): X-Men as Family; Feral X-Men as Pack; Desi/Black &amp; Autistic Harry Potter; Jean Grey Summers<br/>Primary &amp; Secondary Bonus Challenges: Middle Name; Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow’s Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots)<br/>Tertiary &amp; Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Intercept)<br/>Word Count: 3904</p></blockquote></div></div>
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